It is the case of a Chinese-born software developer who has been sentenced to four years in federal prison after hacking into the internal systems of his former employer, in a stark warning of the dangers of insider threats that corporations across the globe should be aware of. Known as Davis (David) Lu, 55, of Houston, Texas, the disgruntled employee allegedly committed one of the most devastating forms of digital retaliation, embedding hidden malicious code into Eaton Corporation’s computer network that crippled their operations.
In 2019, after Lu had been demoted and suspended, the attack disrupted global operations, locked out thousands of employees, and caused severe financial losses that resulted in the demotion and suspension being followed by the attack. As reported by the Department of Justice, Lu’s actions illustrate how even the most resilient enterprises can face crippling risks when they are mistrustful and unchecked with insider access.
According to Lu’s investigation, after he was cut off from his responsibilities in 2018 as a result of a corporate reorganisation, his dissatisfaction began in 2018. A professional setback, prosecutors argued, was the inspiration for a carefully orchestrated sabotage campaign. By planting malicious Java code within Eaton’s production environment, he planted the code to wreak maximum havoc once it was activated.
This article has been indexed from CySecurity News – Latest Information Security and Hacking Incidents
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